The billion-dollar King of Prussia (KOP) rail project took a major step forward last week, when SEPTA awarded the design contract for the project’s first phase to a construction engineering company. The $7.3 million contract, awarded to Missouri-based company, HNTB, will allow the group to start designing the KOP rail, which will see the Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL) extended to provide service to five stops in KOP. HNTB will be working off a conceptual design for the rail line, called the “Locally Preferred Alternative” (LPA), which SEPTA announced last year. However, this is only the contract for Phase I, meaning HNTB will be working on a design for 15 percent of the overall project. S

There are many reasons to embrace transportation demand management (TDM), among them environmental, public health, and economic benefits. But as commutes in metro areas all over the country become longer, one of the most compelling reasons behind businesses choosing to offer mobility perks is the boost they see in their own recruitment and retention efforts. Amazon’s recent search for a home for its second headquarters near public transit highlighted a growing awareness among employers of the important role the commute plays in productivity and health. But it’s not just major corporations conducting nationwide site searches that are rethinking how commuting impacts their workforce. Employers

Taking public transit only works if you can get to and from your stop. Since the advent of ride-hail services, the option to combine modes of transportation makes the bus or train more doable, especially when those hailed rides are shared. UberPool and Lyft Shared allow public transportation riders an option for that so-called first mile-last mile problem at a lower cost than hailing a solo ride. But prices still vary and those services require a credit card and a smartphone. To see what happens when people with only basic phones and few financial options have new access to shared mobility, Los Angeles transit agency Metro partnered with ride system developer Via for a one-year pilot program

The future of California’s ambitious but troubled high-speed rail project is murkier than ever. Always controversial, the California High-Speed Rail (CHSR) project, which promises to whisk passengers from Los Angeles to the Bay Area in about 2 hours and 40 minutes at speeds that hit 220 mph, has experienced cost overruns and delays since it was conceived a decade ago. When approved by California voters in 2008, the project was projected to cost $40 billion. Since then, however, the price tag has swelled to $77 billion, with some estimates going up to $100 billion. Construction is now in progress in the state’s less-populated Central Valley, and the first phase of the line, between San Jose a

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (January 25, 2019) - The King of Prussia Rail (KOP Rail) Project has reached two milestones within the month. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Board has approved a contract to advance further engineering of the KOP Rail extension of the Norristown High Speed Line, (NHSL). The selected consultant team is led by HNTB, an infrastructure solutions firm serving public and private owners and contractors. The contract scope encompasses the detailed preliminary design work, including surveying and utility and geotechnical investigations. This will progress the engineering and architectural design from the conceptual Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA

Uber Urges Europe to Boost Investment in Public Transportation Networked cars, like Uber and Lyft vehicles, have already transformed the way millions worldwide get around, and they will continue to reshape the urban mobility picture in the years to come. But not so much as to make public transit obsolete. In fact, public transit will remain the bedrock upon which 21st-century urban mobility rests — that’s the message Pierre-Dmitri Gore-Coty, Uber’s Regional General Manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, delivered in an open letter to European public officials. In the letter, which appears on Medium, Gore-Coty states flatly, “Public transport will continue to be the backbone of the f

The status quo in American road design is claiming more and more lives, according to some transportation safety advocates. The 2019 edition of Dangerous by Design, a recurring report by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition, finds that the number of people struck and killed while walking has grown a startling 35 percent since 2008. There are multiple factors behind this, but the report emphasizes one in particular: overly wide arterials that give too much space to cars and too little to humans. High-speed, multi-lane avenues that underpin sprawling urban growth, as opposed to slower, narrower streets that support walkable neighborhoods, are “consistently linked ...

Uber is looking to integrate autonomous technology into its bike and scooter-share programs. Details are scarce, but according to 3D Robotics CEO Chris Anderson, who said Uber announced this at a DIY Robotics event over the weekend, the division will live inside Uber’s JUMP group, which is responsible for shared electric bikes and scooters. The new division, Micromobility Robotics, will explore autonomous scooters and bikes that can drive themselves to be charged, or drive themselves to locations where riders need them. The Telegraph has since reported Uber has already begun hiring for this team. “The New Mobilities team at Uber is exploring ways to improve safety, rider experience, and ope

Biking has almost doubled along major corridors in Seattle as the city enters the fourth day of “Viadoom” — the highly publicized closure of State Route 99. Viadoom — or the “period of maximum constraint,” as city officials have called it was billed as a potentially paralyzing traffic nightmare. Monday began the three week period when the Alaskan Way Viaduct (SR 99) is closed, but the city’s replacement — a $3 billion underground highway — has not opened. For months, local leaders have been warning residents — especially drivers — that the need to change their routines. So far, people seem to be responding. The city’s lead traffic engineer, Dongho Chang, reports many people are also availing

The New Urban Mobility alliance – NUMO for short – has been launched today in Washington, D.C. It aims to provide a guiding vision for more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient transportation in cities and will major on modes other than private motor cars. Seed-funded with $6-million from U.S. billionaire real estate developer and philanthropist Stephen M. Ross, NUMO is led by Zipcar co-founder Robin Chase. She is joined by director Harriet Tregoning who was a leading executive in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration. A former director of the District of Columbia Office of Planning, Tregoning is a daily bicycle commuter. She played a role in e

In Los Angeles, where residents and visitors are killed by vehicles at a rate amounting to one person every 40 hours, city officials have identified more than 80 streets and intersections in need of urgent safety improvements. Approved last month by the Los Angeles City Council, the list is part of Vision Zero, the city’s plan to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. The 23 corridors and 60 intersections included on it are some of the deadliest in the city, based on data collected by law enforcement agencies throughout California. They join 40 “priority corridors” where the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has already begun to implement safety measures, ranging from new traffic signals a

Bike advocacy has changed dramatically since privately owned e-scooters began flooding American cities about a year ago, advocates from cities across the country say. We reached out to key bike advocates in Kansas City, Baltimore and Nashville to get a sense of just how big of an impact e-scooters have made in their cities. Independently, all reported it is pretty huge — especially in the way e-scooters expand the pool of people using “active” transportation. Scooters have raised concerns about safety and sidewalk accessibility in the press. A couple bike advocacy leaders also raised some potential issues as well. Here’s what they had to say: In Baltimore, a desperately needed new option Liz

January 9, 2019 (Bala Cynwyd, PA) The City Avenue Special Services District (City Ave District) announced that a series of pedestrian safety improvements started this past December will be completed this week. The project includes pavement signal markings on City Ave and roadside “Speed Limit” signs. Pedestrian traffic signals have been updated on City Avenue at Cardinal Avenue, Lapsley Lane and 54th St. The goal of these improvements is to enhance pedestrian safety all along the City Ave corridor. The updates are part of a long-term Streetscape and Safety Improvement Program of The City Ave District. Pavement Markings on City Avenue *“Slow 35 MPH” pavement legends *Thermoplastic rumble str

Uber and Lyft have long promised that their services would “free” people from private car ownership — but data show the opposite is happening. Census statistics show that in the eight major cities where Uber and Lyft are most concentrated, total car ownership has risen in the last five years — a worrisome reversal of earlier trends, transportation consultant Bruce Schaller wrote this week in CityLab. In many cities, there was an increase in car-free households and car-light households — households with fewer cars than workers — between 2012 and 2017. But those reductions were eclipsed by growth in “car-rich” households, as Schaller calls homes with more two or more vehicles. “Increased car o

Connecting open spaces, sports parks and even sidewalks, Limerick has long-range plans to get its residents moving — on an extensive trail network. First envisioned in a 2013 vision plan, the township has been steadily using grant money to build a trail network. It focused first on two things, according to Township Manager Dan Kerr, trails that are centrally located and nearest to the greatest number of residents; and the township's property along the Schuylkill River and the potential to link to the Schuylkill River Trail. Currently, the Schuylkill River Trail is continuous from Philadelphia to Parker Ford, just over the Linfield Bridge from three properties Limerick recently purchased as a

Starting Monday, Jan. 7, SEPTA Key turnstiles will go into service for Norristown High Speed Line riders boarding at 69th Street and Norristown Transportation Centers. The change is part of the transition to the SEPTA Key. The turnstiles will be activated between 5:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. During late night and early morning hours, and on weekends, customers will continue to pay fares on board the train. Also, customers boarding at stations in between 69th Street and Norristown will continue to pay upon boarding at all times. To enter through the turnstiles at 69th Street and Norristown between 5:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. on weekdays, customers can pay as follows: – SEPTA Key Card l

We have all seen it…and felt it. The snows of last winter and the rains of the spring and summer paused---for only a short time—the ‘march of construction equipment’! Cranes, dump trucks, concrete mixers and excavators seem almost as dense as our passenger vehicle traffic. All over our region, the combination of the enlivened economy and interest rates have contributed to a surge in the construction and re-development of both single family and multi-family residential units from all corners of Montgomery and Chester counties. Hard to believe that while we may have gotten used to the cyclical nature of roadway repair and bridge reconstruction along our most congested arteries, once off the hi

While managing land use, transportation, economic development, air quality, environmental sustainability, equity and health through distinct departments may be necessary and even beneficial (as many cities creating new departments of transportation are noting), the issues themselves are not disparate. In fact, most city values require coordination and collaboration between and amongst various stakeholders across internal departments and external groups. Traditionally, such collaboration has proven challenging for a variety of reasons, including differing mission statements, misaligned timelines and variations in processes. But increasingly, new mobility options are presenting an opportunity

Forget kiss and ride — welcome to roll and ride. Beginning Monday, passengers on the Washington Metro will finally be allowed to bring their bikes aboard during the morning and evening rush hours. The policy change is the result of decades of advocacy by local bike advocates, dating back to a seminal protest at which cyclists carried cardboard bicycles aboard Metro trains to demonstrate that there was enough room, said Robert Gardner of the Washington Area Bicyclists Association. Taking one’s bike on the Metro means “you don’t necessarily have to rely on your car anymore,” he said. “That’s a huge opportunity.”Metro, in its announcement, emphasized that the policy change was made with specifi

Stories of people tracking everything from their food intake to their weekly expenditures to their Sunday morning rituals seemed to dominate social media feeds in 2018. Here at Curbed, we were curious about something else—how regular people get around their cities. In 2018, we asked seven Americans in cities coast-to-coast to track their multimodal journeys for a week and report back for a series we called Transit Diary. The meticulous (and often hilarious) documentation of such seemingly banal activities revealed some fascinating insights. In an age where some people have more options than ever, how do they decide to get from A to B? What does it take for commuters to choose more sustainabl